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Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Aug. 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures were flat in overnight trading Wednesday after the market suffered three consecutive days of declines as the tech-powered rally faded.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 futures inched up by 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed.
The rally appeared to decelerate this week as all three major averages fell three days in a row. The S&P 500 slid 0.5% Wednesday, marking its worst daily performance in June. The equity benchmark is now down 1% week to date, on pace to break a five-week win streak.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%, suffering its worst daily performance since June 7. Big winner in artificial intelligence AMD dropped 5.7% Wednesday, while Intel retreated 6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%.
Wednesday’s decline came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said more rate hikes are likely ahead to combat inflation, pouring cold water on investors who had hoped the central bank was close to the end of its tightening cycle.
“Powell said lowering inflation has a long way to go and that could very well mean that they won’t stop until the fall,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “If other central banks seem poised to deliver more than a couple rate hikes, that might make it easier for the Fed to remain aggressive with tightening.”
The Fed kept rates steady at last week’s policy meeting after 10 consecutive hikes. However, officials indicated there could be two more quarter-percentage point increases this year.
Powell will deliver his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday morning. Investors will look for further comments on inflation and interest rates.
Investors will also monitor weekly jobless claims data Thursday morning, which is expected to show a total of 256,000, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.
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